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What to Watch: Isle of Dogs

From writer-director Wes Anderson, Isle of Dogs is a stop-motion animated film that follows a young boy's search for his lost dog.

The film takes place in Japan, 20 years in the future where an outbreak of "dog flu" causes a quarantine of all canines to trash island. Trash island is an island full of trash. The misplaced dogs are forced to fight among themselves for what little resources are available.

One day a young boy named Atari lands on Trash Island in search of his dog, Spots. With help from a misfit group of dogs, he sets out to find his best friend.

Wes Anderson brings a unique style and vision to all his films. The stop-motion animation is beautifully done and executed to bring added humour to the film. I always love Anderson's work for not being afraid to stray far (far) from the norm. Isle of Dogs is no different, but still manages to tell a strange story without sacrificing any substance.

With everything from government conspiracies to robot dog fights, Isle of Dogs packs an exciting and charming story at a run time of 101 minutes. This film also contains a stacked voice cast comprised of Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, and Frances McDormand (just to name a few).

It was no surprise when Isle of Dogs was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Score at this year's Academy Awards. Isle of Dogs is available to rent on all platforms, or stream on the Crave+Movies+HBO app (included with the Movies Pack).